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IHOP server tells black teenagers to pay up before they eat

A server at an Auburn, Maine, IHOP restaurant asked a group of black teenagers to pay upfront for their meal, prompting the manager to issue a public apology.

Manager Melvin Escobar told the Sun Journal newspaper "this is the first time it happened, and that will be the last time."

What happened on Sunday came to the attention of Escobar after a young man from Monmouth posted about it on Facebook.

Escobar says he believes the server's actions were not racially motivated but she was worried the kids would duck out on the $100 bill. He says the restaurant recently had some problems with teenagers walking out without paying.

IHOP restaurants are franchised and run by International House of Pancakes, LLC, a subsidiary of DineEquity Inc.